Daniel Radcliffe bemoans modern action films

The Harry Potter star says that they don't make action films as well as they
used to

Daniel Radcliffe attends the premiere of What If at the Odeon West End, Leicester Square, LondonPhoto: PA

5:44PM BST 12 Aug 2014

Daniel Radcliffe has criticised today's action movies, saying that they are not being made as well as they used to be and just feature the “same people” in different cities or different cars.

The actor, 25, said that he used to enjoy blockbuster action films such as Die Hard, starring Bruce Willis, and The Matrix, featuring Keanu Reeves.

But the former Harry Potter star, set to appear in the new rom-com What If, complained that the films were now formulaic and lacked decent stories.

''People think that the romantic comedy genre (has) had a bad time recently, and I get that, but I don't think it's as bad as the action movie ... there is never a character involved in any of those films,'' he said.

''It's just the same people thrown in different cities with different cars.

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''And I like action movies, I feel like there used to be lots of really witty ones, like Die Hard and Lethal Weapon, and those kind of films.''

He pointed to ''a couple of good action films'' such as The Bourne Identity, ''the great action movie of our time'', but complained that they were now ''few and far between.''

Radcliffe said that while today's action movies were laden with ''incredible, impressive'' special effects, they lacked character and stories.

''Ultimately what makes the action movies ... that I love, like Die Hard and Matrix, are movies that have amazing stories and amazing characters and characters that you're rooting for and thrilled by all the time.

''Sometimes you get very homogenised stories and archetypal characters,'' he said at a press conference to promote What If.

Radcliffe enjoyed shooting action scenes in the Harry Potter films, as well as Horns and Frankenstein.

But he admitted that he could not see himself as the new Sylvester Stallone.

''One of the things you should do as an actor is know what you're not right for as well as what you are'', he said.

Radcliffe stars alongside US actress Zoe Kazan in What If, and said that his character was originally meant to be Canadian – until he was told to drop his accent just two days before filming.

''When I got out there, two before we started filming, I was in Canada, the production company said 'you have to do it in English.

''I said 'why? I learnt it in (north) American, we had many discussions about the accent'. They said 'you're not marketable when you're not in your own accent ...', which is bad news for Horns.

''It was a ridiculous last-minute panic on their behalf. But I wasn't suddenly going to say 's***w you guys, I'm suddenly going to put 200 people out of work for the sake of an accent'.

''That's why I'm English in the film. It wasn't through choice. It ended up being really good, being fine for the character ...''

He revealed his Kazan caught his attention as they filmed a nude scene by writing a message on her nipples.

The actors were on a night shoot fin a chilly Canadian lake working on a skinny-dipping scene when she put the lettering on the "pasties" she used to preserve her modesty.

Harry Potter star tried to respond with a cheeky message on his own bottom, but the actor – who has dyspraxia, which can make writing difficult – said he struggled to make it legible.